Voting data has been revealed in the aftermath of the “shameful” vote to approve an amendment to the Healthcare Bill making DIY abortion permanent.
Last Wednesday, 30 March, the House of Commons voted to approve Baroness Sugg’s amendment to the Healthcare Bill making at-home “DIY” abortions permanent in England.
Women will now continue to be sent abortion pills through the post to have abortions at home without medical supervision.
In the Government’s own consultation, 70% of respondents said that DIY home abortion should end immediately, while only 22% said the scheme should be made permanent, as reported by SPUC.
This followed a “devastating” survey showing that over 10,000 women who took DIY abortion pills in the UK required hospital treatment in 2020.
Despite the facts and overwhelming weight of opinion of the public against DIY abortion, 215 MPs voted in favour of making the scheme permanent.
Of those MPs who supported the amendment, a majority (126) were from the Labour Party, though 72 Conservative MPs also voted in favour. The greatest opposition came from Conservatives, while only 4 Labour MPs voted in favour of protecting women and unborn babies.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “The MPs who voted in favour of making DIY abortion permanent have shown a blatant disregard for the wellbeing of women – a shocking result given the overwhelming response of the public consultation that cried out for an end to the dangerous scheme.
“This shameful decision is clearly dangerous and goes against a massive accumulation of evidence confirming this danger, as previously recognised by the Department of Health and Social Care.
“As well as being undemocratic and wholly contrary to common sense, the subsequent decision by MPs to ignore these findings and override the will of the public is a travesty on the part of those MPs who voted to further endanger vulnerable women.”
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